So near yet so far: Zurich Nomads prevail in the tight finish

How close a cricket match can go? Of course a tie is very thrilling and entertaining. Besides that single run can decide the winner. Likewise single wicket -- but with that it is a bit difficult to judge the closeness of the match. Today is a story of a match which was won and lost by one wicket.

We batted first. Arpit and Vijay gave us a quite but solid start. Arpit was strangely sedated today. Vijay in the other hand was in a good nick and scored 34 runs. They very well braced the challenge of neutralizing some very good and controlled swing bowling first from  Faheem and later from Vickey. Balaji came in to replace Arpit in 10th over. He looked good enough to take on the bowling. After Vijay got out we had a little middle order collaps. Saghir was again unlucky. 

I did not see the best part of Vibhore and Adnan's batting but they kept the score going at a healthy rate of 4-4.5 runs oer over. Adnan score 14 runs with only one boundary -- meaning he is getting his confidence. He I am told was adjudged LBW on an inside edge -- very unfortunate but such decisions happen and we cant do much.

But the row Zurich Nomads created on that decision does not suit their team and certainly does not reflect the quality of cricket that was played today.

Vibhore (who celebrated his birthday yesterday) looked to mix attack and defence. While they did score runs, they missed out on some single -- which could have made a difference.

Then came a cameo from Bala who hit some powerful blows and tried to accelerate the innings. Against a very good frontline bowling attack and average follow up 161 runs was a decent score. We would have wanted to few more. In fact the result left us asking of just a few more but thats always the case in tight matches. 

Saghir and Rahul started our defence. The Zurich nomads batsmen looked quite but comfortable. I quickly replaced Rahul but leaked out too many runs in my first over. Actually me and Nila were not supposed bowl and I was really struggling to find my rhythm. In my third over two wickets fell to raise the confidence of our side. 

Arpit topped it up with his peculiar start -- by claiming a wicket on his first ball. This was followed by a run out. But from here on we lost the grip over the match. Vickey steadily raised the score. Fifth wicket partnership was in range of 60+runs. He miscued a full-toss from Arpit to Shiva. Once again few wickets fell in that bursts. But again the eight wicket partnership was extended for too long. This was partly because of the some elegant batting from Faheem. He was also tossed one of Arpit's fulltoss to Nila. Thats the first time we smelled a victory.

Faheem was the difference today between the two sides, duely supported by Vickey. These two guys bowled well and them batted even better -- unfortunately (and fortunately for us) both fell to full-toss deliveries of Arpit. While fall of Vickey was a respite for the FNCC, it was Faheem's departure that gave use real hope. We needed to take 2 wicket and they needed 18 runs to win. Alas some  poor fielding, indiscipline in the bowling and stubbornness of Sangam's batting the ninth wicket fell (a run out) when they needed three runs. Saghir tried his best to stretch the game but on the fourth bowl of the last over it was all over. 

I talked about how every match is revealing new aspects of the FNCC character. It takes a great deal to accept the defeat gracefully. When the finish is so close as today's it is difficult judge who actually is the winner -- indeed the victory in such matches is largely a statistical fluctuation. We for instance won such a thriller against Strasbourgh in 2010. Nevertheless the margin of victory aptly describes the difference in the two teams in such matches.

This was not the first time that one/two batsmen took the game away from us. Almost a similar match was played against Winterthur last year. We lost that time in an attempt to defend 159 just because one batsman stayed for a bit too long and took the game away from us. We certainly needed to spot this trend and work to correct this. First we let Faheem settle and then gave him a field that he could score runs freely. I do not want to take anything away from him, he played a superb innings. But this is an area we need to work hard.

There were several positives of the match. This being a non-league game we experimented with out batting. We for the first time got to see Vibhore (who debuted) and Rahul's batting potential. Likewise Bala repeated his succeses of Uster game here as well with some towering sixes. Balaji showed some potential to bat at the top of the order. And very importantly Adnan reached to double figures after a long time. This positives when added can only signal the strength of our batting. Yes, Arpit and Saghir needs to lift their game. Saghir's bad luck continued and I hope that the law of averages will come in play for him. He cant stay away from real action for too long.

Bowling was ok today -- we almost defended 161 runs. But we are not effective against left-hand batsmen. Extras are still leaking -- today we gave away 24 runs as extras.

Fielding was excellent in patches. When runs started to flow we somehow became excessively defensive and accordingly the bowling. Guru needs to get his basics right for wicket-keeping. He does not talk and very importantly rarely appeals. With his appeal we can only dream of getting LBWs. But he has reflexes to develop in to a good wicket-keeper.

In any case, with this match we have known  our limits. And now the challenge is to further extend them. Despite defeat I could the feeling of self-discovery on many faces and thats what we gained from this defeat (a defeat never leave uneducated).

right arm over
Arvind

PS: It was FNCC debute of Vibhore (who scored 33), Shiva (a first ball duck -- actually first ball ever he faced on the flix wicket), Eldho (How much did he score?). and Guru. Welcome to the club guys.

FNCC won in style: Cricket returned to Freiburg

Cricket returned to Freiburg after a gap of 10 months when we went down fighting against Winterthur Cricket Club. Our last victory in a home game came against Basel in Aug, 2012. 

Consistency is important. As I always say winning one odd match can happen even by chance. Before the start of the game, including the last season's matches our record read as WLLLW. Three losses in a row. So we were very eager to keep the momentum going and win at home turf. 

The day was just beautiful. It was a bright sunny day and the forecast was for a very hot afternoon. As the wicket stayed in the sun for some time, it had flattened under its own weight and solar energy. So we knew that there will be bounce. 

Eagle CC decided to bat first on an unknown pitch. Right from the first delivery I knew that there was pace and bounce. Real surprise was the swing that we started to get right away. The first wicket came on the first delivery (third of the match) aimed at stumps. By the time the first spell of me and Saghir ended the score card read 14 for 4 in six overs. 

Vijay bring in Arpit and Pranjal. The wickets kept tumbling and in next eight overs both of them had three wickets each. Eagle CC has folded for 25 runs. Saghir and I thought we were very economical (6 overs for 14 runs) but Arpit and Pranjal bowled 8 or 9 overs for 9 runs. It was just a brilliant combination of medium pace of Pranjal and slow left arm spin of Arpit that our guests had not clue what was going on. 

Also I must say that Eagle CC did not show any commitment. There was one run out but the remaining nine wickets fell as clean bowled. Yes, a couple of catches could have been held in the slips but that would not any qualitative difference. 

Under normal circumstances we would have eased out after seeing the scores at the end of four overs. But that being a league game we remained ruthless. Partly it was because it was a league game and every point mattered, partly because we were not informed about the quality of Eagle CC batting/bowling. This is what league bring to you...

Our chase was expected to be quick but we were surprised by a sharp catch which costed us Rehan's wicket. But Vijay and Arpit made sure that we chased the target in little less than five overs without any further surprises. Since their batting imploded there was not much left for the Eagle CC bowlers, which was a pity because thought their bowling could have created a contest if only there was some score on the borad to defend.

As such I think that no serious team is worth getting out for 25 runs, that is any team should be capable of making more runs and in fact, we have seen Eagle CC score more. I study stochastic processes so I know one can show that perhaps the massive success of our bowling was just a chance. But one ought to have seen the quality of our bowling that day before reaching any conclusions. We were just superb and if not for 25 we could have reduced them to something more reasonable (60+) score. In fact, on such a beautiful sunny day when all our bowlers were in rhythm we could have decimated any opposition. I am sure that Eagle Cricket Club can put this behind... but only if they show some commitment and value their wicket.

It was a home fixture so FNCC players had a lot to organize. The field organisation and other logistics went well but can be improved and will be improved. Real surprise in the  lunch was 'helva' that Arpit brought. 

From now on there are only tough fixtures for us. These previous two games have revealed some important aspects of the FNCC character. But I am sure there is more to FNCC and we can do better. Our fragile middle order remains a worry and the last match did not give us any chance... there are always avenues for improvement and thats what FNCC is all about....

right arm over
Arvind

FNCC makes an emphatic debut in the Swiss league

Nomads could not have asked for a better start---99 run victory after scoring 255 runs in little less than 35 overs. More important was the general feeling that we could have scored more run and could have bowled out the opposition for lesser runs....every thing seemed possible on that day.

There were three players who showed what they are capable of. Nila among the bowlers, and Vijay and Rehan among the batsmen. Other still have to make their mark.

Arpit and Rehan gave us a confident start. The real magic started when Vijay joined Rehan. Runs started to come easy on a rather dodgy wicket. It was difficult to play (see below) but very quickly Rehan and Vijay found the range of their shots. Rehan more than often switched between dead bat and areal route. Vijay chose to play a second fiddle to Rehan but played some very beautiful shots. The second wicket partnership was worth 131 runs. At one point they scored 50 runs in five over. 

Once Vijay fell to a rather rash shot after scoring 55 runs, the famous FNCC collapse started. At one point we were looking to score 300 runs and soon we were hoping not to get out within 35 overs. Rehan scored 91 runs. He looked all set to score a 100 but ...

Saghir was unlucky again, Angelo was a undone by the strange bounce and Adnan fell victim to his over cautious play. Bala lifted the game with some tentative defence and soaring sixes. In the end we were bowled out for 255 runs.

Zug CC had some good bowler and some under par ones. Suggi and Nesson were pretty handy and troubled the batsmen more than often. But once a batsmen is set, bowlers have to wait for the mistake and Rehan and Vijay took a lot of time to commit there mistakes. We were not sure it 255 runs were going to be enough given the outfield and unfamiliarity with the opposition.

We started in our regular economical way. I was struggling with my rhythm. Saghir was however, channeling is batting failure in to an aggressive opening spell. Nila however was the pick of this spell. From mid-on when nobody expect he gave us the first breakthrough in the form of a runout. In my third over I went for 14 runs. Even though the required run rate was more than 7 an over in that ground it was doable and we were wary that few such loose overs to could undo the hard work of Rehan and Vijay. So Saghir correct my mistake as one of his yorker hit the stumps. 

Arpit and Nila then tied up the batsmen. One of Arpit's over also costed him 13 runs but overall the second spell pretty much closed the doors for the Zug CC as the required runs rate increases slowly to nine an over. Such run rate can be maintain for few over but only rarely for 20 overs.

Nila bowled beautiful. He had the perfect length for that wicket and he was duely rewarded with maiden overs and wickets. Arpit was unlucky that he didnt pick a wicket... Pranjal was spot on... when he came in there was a pressure to consolidate the advantage Nila and Arpit brought to us and he did that job excellently. 

Vijay changed his bowler regularly and gave Zug CC batsmen no chance to pick any bowler. With run rate climbing it was clear that batsmen will go for big shots but proper field placement and bowling length meant that we did not leak too many runs. 

After drinks break it was more a matter of victory margin. I returned after drinks, still struggling for rhythm but was lucky to pick up two wickets credit however should go to Saghir who took quickly amending his rare lapse  in fielding and Pranjal who judged the catch in cover very well. 

But again it was Nila who stole the show. At one point he took two wickets in two balls -- Saghir intercepted a very good shot and I took a skier. He ended up with four wickets as Vijay wanted to try out Adnan, Bala and Bala. The small Bala (a very colorful character) was successful in claiming a wicket and FNCC was celebrating a victory after 10 months... It was a great feeling....

From Zug CC, Roshan and one of the opener were very good. I thought that Rishan came a bit too late. But overall I think more than our bowling they crumbled under the weight of runs they were supposed to score.

But it was not all that great. We were good in the field but should have held few more catches. Vijay needs some more practice behind the wicket. Bowling was superb but I really need to work on my bowling rhythm. Batting showed our depth and shallowness at the same time. The collaps of middle order cannot be acceptable and we cannot hope to go further just based on one big partnership. This match clearly showed that if our middle order clicks what we are capable of ... what is important is that we convert this potential to reality. 

Man of the match: I am bowler and I biased when I think Nila should be the MoM. But truely it was Rehan's batting that helped us put up that huge score. It is only a shame that he missed out on his well deserved  century. But there are going to be many more opportunities.... Thank you Rehan. Of course Rehan's effort would not have been enough without Vijay and Nila. 

The wicket

In the main land Europe nothing surprises you more than the cricket wicket. For instance, we play on plastic wicket in football field where we cannot even nail the plastic thing. From a cement wicket with artifical turf to jute and plastic mats you will find every variety except for the real wicket. Talk about cultural schock...There are many more innovative and creative wickets that can test your abilities. In Zug we were told that the wicket was a surprise even to the home side. We of course played in football field with turf i.e. the outfield was lightening fast. There was a real chance at the boundary the ball may bounce over the fielders. 
The wicket in such field was a mere carpet which was tapped to the ground and the other end which just extended to the half of the pitch. Usually the carpet was stretched at the start of the over and for subsequent deleveries the accumulated wrinkles which invariable led to unpredictable bounce and speed.  This is real cultural shock....

The hosts
It was great to play at the ground of Zug Cricket club. Very good hosts... made it an every bit an enjoyable atmosphere. Thank you guys for beging so nice and kind off the field and competitive on the field.

It is of course only a start... It is easier to win one or two odd games and it is completely different to maintain a consistence particularly when wicket is part of the cultural shocks and most oppositions are unfamiliar  It is beginning of a long journey for the FNCC... the nice things that there are many young and enthusiastic players who are showing every promise to take us through.

right arm over

Arvind